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Jameis Winston: A Thug, for now

The most famous black college football player in the country this year is now a thug. And, the outcome of the rape investigation may not change that in many people’s minds.

Like it or not, the most famous, admired, high-profile and celebrated black men in this country are often athletes and entertainers. And, they’re not always paradigms of virtue.

Jameis Winston is special. This kid has it all: the look, the personality, the big smile, youth, charisma, leadership, and no doubt, talent. He’s done and said all the right things on and off the field and looked to be headed towards the Heisman trophy and possibly, an undefeated national championship.

I’ve been pulling for him to succeed, in part because of the spotlight he commands and his reach. I talk often about how important it is for us to have strong, positive images of black men in order to combat the omnipresent negative images and stereotypes that exist. I counted Winston as another opportunity to make positive strides.

You can talk that “innocent until proven guilty” stuff all you want, but truth is, there are now so many questions about how the investigation has been handled and even if Winston is 110% innocent, many right now view him the way people too often view young black men: as criminals, assailants, thugs. If he’s guilty, this is a different story, but if he’s not, he may never remove the stain of suspicion.

Guilty or innocent, he may have gone from the kid everyone can root for to just another black man that society should fear. And, that’s a damn shame.

Comments

What exactly are the cops supposed to do with just an allegation? They can’t just arrest someone or bring them in for questioning with no more than an accusation. That’s ridiculous and would lead to a bunch of civil rights violations. Based on what has been verifiably reported, the accused said she didn’t know him and didn’t identify him until a month later..and she was not intoxicated – but the alleged crime took place in his apartment with his roommate witnessing it.

The author’s entire point is based on the public perception of black males in America. What happened in the leagal system is irrelevant! The court of public opinion is the one that matters, particularly when trying to refute racial stereotypes, and Jameis Winston has only given support to those perceptions.

@ Marissa: F**King investigate it immediately. the cops had a first name Chris (Jamies’ roommate ” Chris Casher”). Didn’t bother to try to find Chris to question him. The bar had 30 Security Cameras, they didn’t ask to see the footage (waited several months so the tapes had been recycled). The university didn’t notify the Title IX officer as required by law in all allegations of sexual assault (want to keep the number that know the secret to a minimum). Apparently, Chris video taped a portion of the alleged assault on his phone (since police were busy eating donuts and didn’t find Chris) which was eventually deleted. Funny thing here is it could have proved his innocence or his guilt (probably the later since Chris decided he needed to delete it).
Guilty or Innocent, the police and the University tried to make it go away instead of investigating it properly. Because of the he is a thug and always will be in the minds of most people who understand that a cover-up is done to protect the guilty not the innocent.